Whether used for transmitting signals, receiving signals, or both, antennas for radio frequency (RF) applications are connected to front-end circuitry. For example, a transmitting RF antenna is typically connected with a power amplifier. Usually, the power amplifier receives signals that have been manipulated, such as through a mixer receiving both an intermediate frequency/automatic gain control (IF/AGC) signal and a local oscillation (LO) signal. Conversely, a receiving RF antenna is connected to a low noise amplifier (LNA). The signal received by the antenna is supplied to the LNA, which in turn is mixed with an LO signal to form an IF/AGC signal for further baseband demodulation/decoding. In applications where both functions are needed, such as cellular telephony, transceivers perform both functions with some overlap of circuitry.
The circuitry for an antenna can often be placed on a different integrated circuit (IC) chip than the front end circuitry to which it is attached. Prior approaches known to the inventors to connect antennas and front end circuitry include various wired or direct connection methods. For example, bonding wires can be used to connect one chip to another. Likewise, micro-bump connections can be used, in which small solder contacts on each chip come into direct contact to make a connection. Through silicon vias (TSVs) can also be used to connect the RF components to an antenna. Using this approach, a conducting material is formed in a column between vertically arranged chips. However, each of these solutions raise the cost, present concerns with regard to impedance matching and electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, and drop the yield during manufacturing. These solutions also increase the complexity of packages that enable the connection between antennas and RF transmission and recovery signals.